Narendra Modi economics same as PC’s, says book

The BJP may be constantly slamming the UPA government’s economic policies, but a book approved as the authorised version of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s economic vision claims that his economics is “the same” as that of Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

“Like Chidambaram, he (Modi) probably has no patience with people who do not know their subject and that may come out as arrogance, but is actually not. If India were to have a presidential form of government today, the alternative candidate I can think of in the Congress is Chidambaram. It will be a Chidambaram vs Modi fight. Opinions may be divergent but economics is the same. Both have a business-like approach to economics and governance,” says the book, ModiNomics: Inclusive Economics, Inclusive Governance, authored by Sameer Kochhar.

Chidambaram had recently invited the wrath of the principal opposition party after he stated that Modi’s knowledge of economics can be written “on the back of a postage stamp”.

The author’s meetings and interview with Modi took place before the latter’s anointment as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. Modi was expected to launch the book in New Delhi on Saturday and had even tweeted in the morning that he was “looking forward to releasing the book”. Hours before the function, though, he cancelled the plan and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley released the book.

“Unfortunately, would not be able to join the book release programme of ModiNomics,” tweeted Modi. There was no official reason given for his absence. BJP sources said Modi had even prepared the speech but could not make it because of scheduling issues.

While ModiNomics is centred around Modi’s economic vision as laid out in Gujarat, the book also briefly reflects on “a new approach” to tackling law and order in the state. To keep a check on rising cyber crimes, for instance, the Modi administration launched Cyber Surakasha Kavach “that takes support not only from system engineers but also ethical hackers”.

Modi has been quoted in the book as saying that the fact that he was “the product of a government school” proved that there is “potential” in the government system. “He (Modi) studied only up to Class X in the government school in his hometown Vadnagar in Mehsana district and believes that despite the poor education he got, he has succeeded in life because of his hard work and curiosity to learn,” says the book.